Birthday Wishes
by Michaela McPhillips
Summary: It's Quinn's birthday, and unable to celebrate in the moment his mind drifts back to a happier time.


SLIDERS

Birthday Wishes

By Michaela McPhillips

Rating: PG.

Summery: It`s Quinn`s birthday, and unable to celebrate in the moment, his mind drifts back to a happier time.

Spoilers: Major spoilers for the 4th season. Spoilers also for `Exodus`.

Author`s notes: This story takes place sometime during season 4. Many thanks to Julie Tharp for really helping me out with this one. You`re the best! Also thank you to Slida and Sandra Ignacio for giving me their feedback on this.

Disclaimer: Sliders belongs to Tracy Torme; St. Clare Entertainment; Fox Network; Universal & The Sci-Fi Channel. All the characters and elements of the show belong to these people. I`m not receiving any payment for writing this story. Again that was just for fun.

I hope you like it!

*****

Quinn Mallory opened his eyes, and sighed heavily. It was no use. Nothing he could do could help him sleep peacefully anymore. It had been so long since he had a decent`s night sleep, that he couldn`t remember. Maybe it was before Wade`s disappearance. No, perhaps just before the Professor`s death. Or maybe even before he had first slid four years ago.

He shook his head sadly. It didn`t matter anyway. He couldn`t sleep tonight. He glanced at his watch. It was now a little after 3 am. 3 hours into his birthday. He had now turned 25, yet he didn`t feel like celebrating. He didn`t intend to tell the others either. He didn`t expect Maggie or Colin to remember, but Rembrandt might but he doubted it. It didn`t matter to him anyway. Just another day sliding from world to world he told himself. 

The only one who would have remembered no matter what was Wade. But she wasn`t here. She was in the hands of the Kromaggs. A captive of the Kromagg Dynasty, just like his mother, his friends, and the rest of his home world.

This birthday he would rather forget. He didn`t want to celebrate. Even though his friends would gladly celebrate the day with him, once they knew or remembered, it wouldn`t be the same. He had gotten used to not celebrating his birthday with his mother, though he always dreamed of the day when he could once again. But the one person he did want to celebrate it with right now was no longer with him. 

He closed his eyes once again, drifting back to a memory of a happier time...

*****

"Okay, open your eyes!"

Quinn opened his eyes to see Wade sitting before him holding a small parcel in the palm of her hand. "Wade, you shouldn`t have..." he trailed off, smiling broadly.

"Why not? You would have," Wade smiled back.

Quinn returned her smile, as he took the gift. She was right. He would have, and has, done the same for her. Throughout sliding, really ever since their friendship had begun, they have both always went out of their way never to forget special occasions. Today the occasion being Quinn`s 24th birthday.

"What`s this?" he glanced at the neatly wrapped gift.

"Well, open it and find out!" Wade grinned.

Quinn noted the glint in her eyes, and unwrapped the gift. Inside was a small piece of brown cloth, round with a thin leather looped along the edges, with an Eagle painted on the centre of it, soaring amongst the clouds.

"On this world the people believe that you are what your charm cloth has on it. The Eagle here means traveller. Soaring into the sky to follow a destined path, and to always remain a free spirit."

Quinn smiled as he studied the fabric. It was beautiful. He knew that Wade had always had spiritual beliefs, and the thought that she saw him as something this beautiful amazed him. 

"When I saw this I thought of you," Wade smiled shyly.

Quinn looked up and met her eyes. He was amazed at how she somehow always sensed what he was thinking. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

"It`s okay," Wade smiled. "And I got you another present but I couldn`t gift wrap it."

"Really?" Quinn asked. She never usually gets him two gifts.

"Yeah," Wade smirked. "I can give it to you now or you could wait until later?"

Quinn watched as she arose from the chair, and walked towards the table and picked up an apple from the fruit tray. "I don`t mind having my present now." He then smirked, sheepishly. "Unless you really want to wait until later?"

Wade smiled, taking a bite, crooking her finger, beckoning him over. "Okay, c`mere."

Quinn walked over to her, with his cloth still in his hand.

"Are you sure you want it now?" she asked coyly. "Y`know I`m not sure if I should give it to you right now..."

"Wade," Quinn smiled down at her. "What is it? Really I don`t mind having it right now."

Wade smiled once again. "Okay, close your eyes."

"Again?"

"Yeah, I don`t like to hand out presents when your eyes are open," she placed the apple back onto the table. "*Especially* unwrapped ones."

"Okay," Quinn obliged by closing his eyes once more. "This should be worth it."

"It will be," Wade grinned, as she slowly pulled herself up to meet her lips with his. Quinn reacted with a start, then soon responded to her kiss, leaning down, meeting her halfway. With one hand on her waist the other trailed up her back, pressing her against him. While her hands were soon ruffling his light brown hair, as the kiss became more intense and passionate each passing moment.

Soon the door began to creek open, and they reluctantly began to part. They opened their eyes slowly, both unwilling to let the moment end, as they finally broke off the kiss, and gazed into one another`s eyes. They remained standing in each other`s arms.

Quinn forced his gaze away from Wade`s to look at the open door. "Professor!" he exclaimed.

"Um, Remmy!" Wade followed Quinn`s gaze and looked over her shoulder towards the door.

Rembrandt and Arturo stood in the threshold smiling at the two young Sliders, after recovering from the initial shock from witnessing them in a passionate clinch.

"Hey, sweetheart," Rembrandt smiled at the young redhead. He then looked at Quinn trying to hold back a smile, unconvincingly. "Hey, Q-Ball." He then looked back and forth from one to the other.

"So what have you guys been up too?" he grinned.

Both blushed instantly, and parted from the embrace.

"Real funny, Rembrandt," Quinn told him, his face still red, from both the embrace and the embarrassment at being caught.

"Yeah, Remmy, you should have been a comedian instead of a singer," Wade added. Her face was just as red as Quinn`s was, all for the same reasons. "The Funny Man instead of the Crying Man, it would suit you."

Rembrandt placed his hands in front of him and smiled smugly. "I dunno. Just askin` a simple question, huh, Professor?"

Arturo smiled at Rembrandt, with his own hands clasped behind his back. "I would believe so, Mr Brown." He then glanced at the young Sliders. "But it would seem that Mr Mallory and Miss Welles are conducting some sort of experiment."

He then glanced back at Rembrandt with a chuckle. "To see whether or not a human can turn the same colour as a beetroot."

Rembrandt laughed along with the slightly older man.

"Ha ha, very funny," Wade said with a half-hearted, but good-humoured sarcasm.

Quinn and Wade exchanged a glance, and smiled. They couldn`t help but join in on their friends lightened moods, even if it was at their expense.

Arturo calmed himself down. "Happy Birthday, my boy."

"You remembered?" Quinn was surprised, taking his Professor`s present to him.

"Of course we remembered, Q-Ball," Rembrandt gave him a good natured slap on the back. "Y`think we`d forget your birthday?"

Quinn smiled as he took his offered gift. He choose not to mention that this was in fact the first time they had remembered. He pushed that thought out of his mind, as this year they did remember, and that meant more to him.

"Thanks," he smiled unwrapping their gifts.

"No problem, Q-Ball," Rembrandt smiled. "Just sorry I couldn`t get you something a bit more expensive, but y`know how things are? Money`s tight."

Quinn turned to his friend who was now behind him. "That`s okay. *This* means a lot."

Rembrandt nodded his acceptance, as he followed Arturo into the living room.

Wade smiled up at Quinn, knowing how much their gifts had affected him.

"We`ll just leave you two alone. Let you finish what you were doin`," Rembrandt grinned.

"It`s okay, Remmy, we were just leaving," Wade called back.

"We were?" Quinn asked her.

Wade looked up at him, with raised eyebrows. "Yes, *we were*."

Quinn smiled back, then looked over his shoulder at Arturo who was now sitting in a chair reading a newspaper, while Rembrandt was seated in front of the television.

"We`ll be back later."

He then followed Wade to the hotel room door. He watched as she double backed to the table to pick up her apple. "So where are we going?"

"Anywhere," she replied opening the door. "Just somewhere more private."

Quinn smirked as he followed her out, leaving his presents on a small table near the door. As he closed the door Wade turned and looked up at him.

"You had to pick now didn`t you?" she smiled.

"Those were the *best* presents I`ve ever had," he smiled down at her. "I love them."

Wade moved closer to him. "Your birthday`s not over."

Quinn smiled as he raised his eyebrows in amusement, as Wade leaned up and softly kissed him. The kiss only lasted for several moments, yet was full of tenderness, as she allowed it to linger, before she removed her lips from his.

She opened her eyes and smiled, as they met his. "Happy Birthday, Quinn."

He smiled down at her, then leaned forward for another kiss. He was stopped when Wade put the apple into his mouth.

"Like I said you choose now, instead of later," she smirked.

Quinn removed the apple from his mouth. "What if I now chose later?"

Wade raised her eyebrows and turned to walk towards the staircase, but first glanced back at him. "We`ll see."

Quinn smiled as she walked away, and looked down at the cloth in his hand. He thumbed the Eagle, as he looked back to the spirited young woman walking down the hall, before placing the cloth in his jean pocket.

He took a bite of the apple, and followed her, knowing that today was going to be a birthday he would never forget.

*****

Quinn was sitting on his bed, thumbing the cloth in his hand. The picture of an Eagle soaring through the sky, above troubled clouds looked up at him. He shook his head sadly. He had wished so much that this belonged to Wade now, rather than him. She should be the free spirit.

He walked towards the window, passing Rembrandt and Colin along the way, who lay asleep in their beds, while Maggie was in the spare room. He stood at the window and looked to the stars.

"I`m coming, Wade," he whispered. "I`ll find you. I promise."

He tightened his grip on the cloth charm, as he thought of his missing bud.

*****

Somewhere on another dimension, Wade Welles stood at the small window of her prison cell. She couldn`t reach the window, yet she was able to see the stars above. Nevertheless she had lost track of time. She didn`t know how long she had been held in captivity of the Kromagg Dynasty. Too long.

Yet, now seemed a time she should remember. She wasn`t sure what it was about today, but her thoughts were of Quinn. Wade smiled a small, secret smile as she thought of the totem and Quinn`s reaction to it, and her smile deepended as she also remembered his other present she had given him that day, and the time they had spent together.

She knew that he was out there searching for her. She knew that he would find her. That they would be together again.

Wade looked up through the bars at the stars that seemed so near and yet so far. Out of reach just like Quinn who was in another, hopefully kinder, reality of this same planet. At least the stars were the same no matter what dimension they were in. Though sometimes the constellations they formed had been given different names. But they always shone from the same places.

Well...mostly.

Looking up at the stars a tear fell onto her cheek, as she now found new resolve. She was waiting for him to find her. But she now had determination that she too would find him.

**The End**


End file.
